Review: Baby Books for Pregnant Moms

I love to read, as if you didn’t know already. When we decided to try to have a baby, I started reading about babies right away. Once we got pregnant, I read even more! I try to stay AWAY from Google, when I have questions, (and you should too) and turn to books that come from reputable sources, not random pregnant people on the internet. Here are my thoughts on three different baby books:

1. What To Expect When You’re Expecting by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel: I actually have two copies of this one: one I bought at Rutgers at a book sale for 50 cents (who can say no to that deal?) and one I bought in Korea at a yard sale the day after we decided to try to have a baby (coincidence? I think not!) The total of both books came to $1.50, and honestly, I think I was ripped off. This book is AWFUL. I know it’s the first book you think to give someone when they tell you they are pregnant, or the first book you think to buy for yourself, but it really is a waste of money and time. Unless you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol, it’s a waste of money. The questions do not pertain to the average reader, except if you’re Janelle on Teen Mom 2, and shouldn’t even be put in a book that is supposed to be so popular and so useful for pregnant women. The book SHOULD be called “What to Expect When You’re Expecting When You Have a Drug Problem.” I kid you not, it’s a really bad book. A friend gave me “What to Expect: The First Year.” We’ll see how that one pans out, once the baby is born. I would hope that people have their addiction problems under control by the time they have finished What To Expect When You’re Expecting so that the second book in the series can actually be useful to the better half of the population(more than half, I’d hope.)

2. Eat Sleep Poop, by Dr. Scott W Cohen: A good friend of mine gave me this book and I LOVE it. I read it when I first got pregnant, but plan on reading it again, soon. I am particularly interested in the sleep training aspect of the book; Momma likes her eight hours sleep at night and will be trying the Doctor’s suggestions on sleep training around 4 months. This book is more for the first year of the baby’s life, but the sooner you read and learn this stuff, the better. There are two chapters that should be read before you deliver and then one chapter on how to check your baby right after he/she is born. After that, it’s all about eating, sleeping, and pooping. Dr. Cohen is a new dad and a pediatrician, therefore, I think he is a good source of information for all new (and veteran) parents. If you’re not a big reader, there are some common sense summaries at the end of each topic that sum up the main idea of the previous few paragraphs. If nothing else, read the summaries, they are better than nothing!

3. The Baby Bump:100s of Secrets to Surviving Those 9 Long Months by Carley Roney and the editors of the TheBump.com: My mom sent me this book while I was in Korea and I love it. The pictures are GREAT. Even though I’m not a child anymore, I still dig a good picture book; most people are visual learners and I happen to fall into that “most people” category. There are questions and answers in this book, much like What to Expect When You’re Expecting, except these questions are, for the most part, useful to all pregnant mothers. I particularly love the page (65) that tells you some different options for eating your extra calories, each day, in a healthy way. I need to start rotating my snacks, you can only eat so many crackers!

My friend just told me to read as much as I could before the baby is born because after he/she is, there won’t be much time to. Happy reading and happy snacking!